UH Hilo softball players selected for 2016 All-PacWest Softball Team
The Vulcan softball team finished the season at 32-17 overall and fifth in the PacWest at 21-9.
First-baseman Cristina Menjivar led four University of Hawai‘i at Hilo players on the 2016 Pacific West all-Conference as voted by conference coaches.
Menjivar (junior, San Francisco, Calif.) earned first-team honors while designated-player Bailey Gaspar (sophomore, Vancouver, Wash.) was a second-team selection, and second-baseman Brittany Huff (senior, Las Vegas, Nev.) and third-baseman Chenoa Au (sophomore, Wahiawa, Hawaii) were third-team selections.
Menjivar led conference first-basemen with a .435 batting average, a .753 slugging percentage, and a .550 on-base percentage. Overall in the conference, the San Jose State transfer was fifth in batting average, fourth in slugging percentage and third in on base percentage. A PacWest Player of the Week in March, Menjivar was also seventh in hits (37), fifth in RBI (26), third in homeruns (8), second in walks (18), and 10th in hit by pitch (5).
Gaspar led the conference with a .506 batting average and .807 slugging percentage. The AIB College of Business (IA) transfer was second in on base percentage (.581), third in hits (42), fourth in RBI (31), fifth in homeruns (6), second in walks (18) and second in sacrifice flies (3). Gaspar was selected PacWest Newcomer of the Week in February.
Huff, a four-year starter, was fourth on the team with a .321 batting average batting in the second or ninth spot. She had nine doubles, two triples and 19 RBI. She had a .973 fielding percentage with 120 putouts, 93 assists and six errors.
Au led the conference with three triples and was seventh in sacrifice bunts with six. The transfer from the University of Hawaii batted .297 over 49 games. She collected two doubles and five triples while driving in 13 runs as team’s eighth batter. On the defensive side, she had a .942 fielding percentage with 55 putouts, 76 assists and eight errors.
The Vulcans finished the season at 32-17 overall and fifth in the PacWest at 21-9.
